Yolanda Wang, contributing photographer
About 70 people gathered at a Yale University Justice Coalition-led town hall in Linsley-Chittenden Hall on Wednesday. EJC organizers invited Yale members to attend a town hall several weeks ago, but no one on the board responded to the invitation or attended the event. EJC speakers pointed to a row of seats at the front of the auditorium with each board member's name written on them, but they remained empty throughout the event.
EJC members called on Yale to disclose and divest its current investments in war and military weapons manufacturers, and instead called on the university to increase its investment in the New Haven community and student life on campus. .
“Yale has extraordinary cultural influence, and its sale could have powerful knock-on effects,” EJC organizer Naina Agrawal Hardin '25 said at City Hall.
In 2018, Yale University established a policy The law prohibits investments in retailers that sell assault weapons to the public. This policy is Request from Professor of Medicine Daniel DiMaioreviewed by the Yale University Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility.
ACIR concluded that mass shootings perpetrated by assault weapons retailers cause “indisputable social harm.” However, according to a 2018 statement from Yale University's Investor Responsibility Committee, the ACIR recommends that manufacturers and retailers of assault weapons “because assault weapons may be used for purposes authorized by military and law enforcement agencies.” We also took into account the distinction between vendors. CCIR is advised by ACIR.
Although Yale University has not withdrawn from arms manufacturing companies, University President Peter Salovey told the News in November 2023 that ACIR: may reconsider policy Regarding investment in arms manufacturing and retail. In February 2024, a university spokesperson wrote to the News that the review would consider expanding the 2018 policy to “cover manufacturers that make substantial retail sales to the general public.” Send, this review isapproaching the conclusion”
Last week, ACIR Chair Heather Tookes said in an email to the News that the review was “prompted” by a presentation by Yale University's Students Demand Action.
“ACIR is preparing to provide updates to the community in the coming weeks,” Tookes wrote.
Students such as Agrawal Hardin said the distinction between the current review and the 2018 review was “unclear”, saying it was not clear whether the current review specifically related to withdrawal from military weapons manufacturing. criticized.
A university spokesperson clarified that investments in assault weapons retailers and military weapons manufacturers are “two separate but related issues” and both are being considered by ACIR.
EJC researcher Patrick Hayes '24 also expressed the university's desire to maintain “consistency” in its investment policies for assault weapons retailers and military weapons manufacturers.
“I think the university correctly recognizes the harm that assault weapons can cause people of all ages,” Hayes told the News. “I don't think there's anything wrong with profiting from the sale of weapons of destruction or violence, especially after mass shootings like Sandy Hook, including in Connecticut. [the University wants] Be involved. [at the EJC] Universities also probably did not want to be involved in the production of military weapons because of the potential for similar repercussions. ”
At Town Hall, Agrawal-Hardin also discussed the importance of endowment justice work on Yale's campus, given Yale's historical leadership in institutional investing. The Yale Model for institutional investors was developed by David Swenson GRD '80, former chief investment officer at Yale University, and Dean Takahashi '80 SOM '83, former senior director of the Yale University Investment Office .The Yale model emphasizes asset diversification beyond traditional U.S. stocks and bonds into alternative investments such as private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, and real estate. has become an industry standard It has been used for the past 30 years and is now used by comparable institutions such as: Harvard University, princeton And that Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“That's why Yale is so focused on what we do with our endowment,” Agrawal-Hardin said, referring to the history of the Yale model. “[Yale] We know that we are leaders in this field. The company knows that it sets an example for its peers around the world. ”
During Mr. Swensen's 36 years as CIO, Yale's endowment was From $1 billion in 1985 to $31.2 billion in 2021when Swensen died.
Madeline Zaritsky ’25, another EJC organizer, argued at City Hall that Yale’s current size: $40.7 billion in donations is itself a “political statement,” and Yale makes political statements by choosing how to invest its endowment.
In addition to Yale's 2018 divestment from being an assault weapons retailer, Yale officials have used donations for other social causes in the past. In October 2020, Mr. Swensen letter He threatened the company responsible for Yale University's endowment. withdraw money from yale university If companies didn't hire more women and people of color as asset managers.
Organizer Norah Laughter '26 explained EJC's call for reinvestment in the New Haven community and Yale student life. Pointing out Yale University's position, largest private employer In New Haven, he cited a Yale Daily News analysis showing the university's assets are tax-exempt.add strain” Rafter, who took issue with the city's finances, urged Yale to reinvest its endowment into creating more jobs, expanding employment benefits, and raising wages for the New Haven residents it employs. I asked for it.
Laughter also called for improved standards of care and a larger financial aid package for students, directing funds toward correcting “terrible” wait times and “substandard” care within Yale's health system. suggested that.
EJC organizers also criticized Yale for investing 99% of its endowment in entities that act as holding companies or limited partners, which organizers say contributes to a lack of transparency. It is claimed that there is.according to June 2022 tax return The report, filed May 15, found that Yale University was associated with at least 165 organizations taxable as partnerships, 20 organizations taxable as corporations or trusts, and 68 tax-exempt organizations or disregarded entities. There is. The primary activity of most of these organizations is listed as investing, but some support higher education, promote research, or fund scholarships. EJC members previously referred to these affiliated organizations as “dummy company'', noting that it is not subject to the same federal filing requirements that bind Yale University as a nonprofit organization.
A university spokesperson defended these confidential investment options, citing “contractual obligations” and the need to “maintain a competitive advantage.”
“Yale's investment partners are among the best in the world, and sharing that relationship will likely increase competition for access to these managers,” a spokesperson told The News. said in an email. “This will ultimately impact our foundation's ability to support our financial aid, exceptional teaching, and cutting-edge research.”
Agrawal Hardin said EJC organizers sent more than 1,800 letters to Yale and attended a meeting of the Yale Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, which did not respond to any communications with the trustees. He stressed that he had used all “appropriate channels” to establish this.
“It is very difficult to contact the Trustees because they meet behind closed doors, their minutes are sealed for 50 years, and they do not accept direct comments on ethical investing through an online contact form,” Agrawal said. = Mr. Hardin wrote.
The News reached out to all members of the company for comment, but did not receive a response.
A university spokesperson refuted EJC organizers' claims of unresponsiveness, saying its directors engage with students in both formal and informal ways.
“For example, a group of trustees are the board's student liaisons who meet with student leaders on an ongoing basis,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to the News. “The Trustees also engage with students through a variety of activities, such as tea parties at boarding schools, gatherings at cultural centres, sports days and meeting with students in other less formal ways.”
The spokesperson also explained that in order to “maintain the integrity and rigor” of Yale's investment process, Yale positions ACIR as “the forum of choice for the community on ethical investment issues.”
Spokesperson and Yale University agree Inquiry formMessages regarding ethical investing should be directed to ACIR, but Tookes reiterated that “ACIR is the primary channel for raising concerns about ethical investing.”
Yale University includes a president and 16 trustees.
